It has spent the spring vacillating between thrilling contests that have included seven walk-off wins, spectacular freshmen performances, to go with mind-numbing defensive lapses from a freshmen-laden club and anemic hitting (ranked 292nd in the country by the last count).

It has coped with a mid-season coaching change because of an illness to head coach Rick Jones, and questions about whether he will return to coach the final year of his contract.

Tulane finished its regular season with a walk-off victory against FIU, the second in two days and the seventh on the season. Tulane won 3-2 on Friday in the ninth.

Freshman third baseman Hunter Hope drove in Stephen Alemais with a single to right field to give the Green Wave a 2-1 victory against FIU in front of 2,297 in Turchin Stadium.

But the dramatic finish didn't erase the fact Tulane's season is over with no chance of a post-season. The Green Wave will finish not better than 10th in Conference USA, well out of contention for the top eight qualifying spots for the league tournament next week.

"We started off strong, had some ups and downs but I feel like toward the end of the season, we came as a team and just battled back and that's what it's all about," Hope said. "I'm looking forward to next year. I just keep with that same approach – that's it."

Interim coach Jake Gautreau said winning three of the past four weekends of Conference USA play showed that the young club that featured sometimes seven newcomers in the starting lineup this spring matured and have a bright future.

"It's bittersweet when you think about the fact that we're not going to be playing anymore baseball starting tomorrow," Gautreau said. "You have to think about the positives of this year and start moving forward. You saw a really young team gather around each other and play really good baseball for the last four or five weeks. We had a rough spot there in the middle of the year, but our kids kept working. They kept playing hard and never gave in. Wins like this and the last four weeks in general are signs of a team that hasn't given in and weren't going to. It's bittersweet that we aren't able to continue playing but I know I'm excited to be part of this and hopefully lead this group moving forward."

But the Green Wave fought to the end of what turned out to be a fruitless campaign for a post-season berth.

"We did the best we could. We had a tough year," ace Tyler Mapes said. "We had a lot of adversity and I believe we fought through that adversity."

The team took a visit from Jones before the game – something that shocked the players.

"I was surprised. I was glad to see him," Hope said. "I'm glad everything is good and he's healthy. He looks great actually, really good."

Gautreau said the talk helped the players realize how closely Jones has been following their progress though his blood pressure related illness has kept him from directly dealing with the team ever since Mar. 21, when he was sent home because of the issue.

""It was special. I thought everybody responded very well, everyone was excited to see him," Gautreau said of Jones. "I thought it was a good clear message that he's been living and dying with every pitch."

"He just tried to boost confidence and that's it," Hope added. "He said we're doing good and just keep it up and play good."

Even with the series victory vs. FIU, Tulane (23-29, 10-18 in C-USA) finished with its first losing record since 1993. Jones has never had a losing campaign in his 21 springs at the helm on the Uptown campus.

"I think a lot of times during the year we were trying to figure out reasons why we were struggling," Gautreau said. "I hate to transfer blame or make excuses because we are done talking about these guys being young, but most of the mistakes we made you can attribute to the fact that we started six, seven or eight freshman every day. When you're starting that many freshmen, it is going to be a roller coaster: there are going to be some ups and downs. I thought they responded really well in the second half here and played really good baseball."

Saturday was one of those good days.

Tulane redshirt senior Tyler Mapes, a right-hander, set the tone with eight strong innings. He scattered seven hits and struck out five, wiggling out of jams here and there. He allowed one run in the third inning.

There J.C. Escarra singled to reach and later scored on a double play for the 1-0 edge.

Jake Willsey, Tulane's second baseman, drove in the tying run in the fifth inning with a single to centerfield.

Closer Ian Gibaut (2-0) came in to relieve Mapes in the top of the ninth – pitching a clean inning to set up Hope's deciding hit against losing pitcher Gunnar McNeill (1-2).

Green Wave shortstop Stephen Alemais started things off in the bottom of the ninth with a hard hit ball to left field. Zach Sweety, the left fielder, misplayed the ball, allowing Alemais to reach second.

Tulane first baseman Garrett Deschamp bunted Alemais over to third and Hope followed in the next at-bat with the walk-off RBI single.

"I swung at a couple of pitches that I shouldn't have swung at and I tried to be real short and just try to use my hands and hit the ball hard somewhere and it fell and it was a great feeling," Hope said. "For the seniors to get their last win, that was the most important thing."

From here, Tulane will determine if Jones can be medically cleared to coach again. If not, the university will have to decide whether it wants to keep Gautreau on as head coach.

Gautreau said he wants to be at Tulane as the program's permanent head coach if Jones can't return.

"If Coach Jones can't return I want to be here," Gautreau said. "This is home for me; this is a place I take a lot of pride in the way I go about my business. I am proud to be here, and I want to stay."